//This is a fictional story and has no basis in reality.
Finding Serenity
Prologue
My mother used to call me pessimistic. She told me I was too passive, not taking chances in life unless the odds were absolutely in my favor. Today I would agree with her observations, but at the time I argued I was not a pessimist, as much as a realist. To me, those traits were vastly different, but my mother disagreed, saying they were two sides of the same coin. I have since come to agree with her view of life, and I can now proudly call myself an optimist. How did I come about such a drastic change of views? Well, I learned that life is not always as realistic as I used to believe, and when you open yourself up to opportunities, things are far more likely to fall in your favor.
Chapter One: Out of Place
Walking into the Los Angeles Convention Center immediately rankled me. I had to practically squeeze between people and worry they would somehow damage the camera equipment in my backpack. And I was only in the Entrance Hall. The clamor of thousands of excited anime fans made me promptly stop and put in my ear defenders. I took a deep breath and continued towards the Main Hall.
I fervently wished I could turn back and leave. Photographing a wedding would have been far less painful than this, and I hated doing weddings. Alas, work was scarce, and I felt I needed to do something.
It was not that I was against Event Photography altogether, I had done some of my best work in events, but an Anime Expo was a very different event than I was used to. I was not into Anime myself, and I believed many of those who were, would be recluses and other odd people who never left their homes for anything else. The only solace I could find was the fact that my subjects would be professional Cosplayers, and they tended to be a lot more pleasant and easy on the eye than the average eventgoer.
The Main Hall grew louder the closer I got, and I realized I would need coffee to survive the day. So, I went to a small refreshment stand on the outskirts of the main attraction and waited in a queue of men I could have smelled from the other side of the venue. I tried to put on a pleasant face as they spared me a glance, but they quickly went back to their conversation. I turned around to gauge the large building, I had no idea where I was to do my work yet, my instructions had been very vague. I decided I would need to find a map to learn where I was supposed to go.
A group of three ladies distracted me from my thoughts as they passed me by. Two of them wore their expertly crafted cosplay with pride, showing off large amounts of cleavage and other voluptuous womanly shapes. They were quite beautiful, but my eyes were drawn to a smaller lady in the middle. She too, showed some skin in her simpler white top and black skirt, but more than anything her face was what stunned me. Her skin looked soft, and her dark eyes were big enough to lose yourself in. She had a certain nervous energy in her look that she was clearly trying to hide. I was glad to see she had the two more confident ladies with her to make her feel safer.
"Sir?"
I jumped and then turned around awkwardly.
"Sorry, I... a coffee please, black." I stuttered.
"Certainly, anything else for you today?" the barista asked.
"No, that will be all."
She turned around to prepare my coffee and I looked back behind me, but the lady was gone. I hoped I would get to see her again, or perhaps even take her picture.
With my coffee in hand, my grumpiness began to dissipate. There was no use in constantly fretting over how much I disliked the convention and having to work it; better to just push through in silence and get the job done. Even the thought of seeing that gorgeous, petite lady again, put a spring in my step.
I pushed through the packed crowd of people, looking for the place I was supposed to set up my equipment. Even through my ear defenders, the sound was piercing. People blocked me every way I tried to move, and I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I tried not to think of the nearly five thousand dollars worth of camera equipment in my backpack.
"Excuse me," I said to a large man blocking the only opening between two stalls. He did not even hear me and continued his loud conversation with his friend.
I sighed audibly and turned around too quickly. I tried to steady myself from falling over, but in doing so my coffee spilled. It hit a girl straight over her neck and chest. She cried out in pain and winced.
"I'm so sorry," I said, not minding the scorching coffee that was searing my hand. She looked up at me and my heart skipped a beat. It was the lady I had just admired from afar. She held her arms out and looked at her top, a brown stain had already formed.
I was mortified. Beside me I found a table to place my cup, then I brought out a roll of paper I had in my backpack.
"Here," I offered.
She looked at me, not with anger as I might have expected after what I had just done to her, but with a hint of sadness. It was far more effective. I felt my heart tearing at the look of her mournful expression.
"It's okay," she told me without conviction.
"Emi?" A female voice called from the crowd, and then came to join us. It was one of the cosplayers she had been with previously. She walked up to us and at the sight of the girl, desperately trying to scrape stained coffee off her top, she opened her mouth in horror.
"Nooo, what happened?"
Before she had time to respond I interjected. "It was my fault, I accidentally bumped into her and spilled my coffee, I apologize."
The taller lady measured me with her eyes, then walked up close.
"What are you doing walking around carelessly with coffee in this crowded area? You've ruined my friend's cosplay." She spoke the words in outrage.
I looked at the floor shamefully as she chastised me.
"Jess, stop, it's okay, really. It was just an accident," Emi said.
The taller lady eyed me angrily one last time, and then went to her friend's side. "Let's go get you cleaned up as best we can."
I stood there feeling like a fool. I spoke up before they left me. "Is there anything I can do?"
Emi turned around as if to speak, but Jess replied first.
"I think you've done enough."
They turned their backs on me and walked away swiftly, somehow traversing the crowd far more successfully than I had managed.
For a moment I remained where I was, staring after them. I felt ashamed, my hand burned, but more than anything I hated the idea that I might have ruined someone's cosplay at a convention. She had tried to hold back most of her true emotion, but the sadness in her eye had still been evident. Seeing her beautiful face laden with grief broke my heart and spirit.
If I had been unhappy at the convention before, I was now miserable. Any little joy I could have found photographing people was now ruined knowing what I had done. Though I needed the money, and more than anything I felt the need to work, I decided I no longer could stomach staying at the Expo. I went to the bathroom to wash the coffee off my hands and then made for the exit.
On my way through the crowd, I was inadvertently turned around by the thickness of excited fans. The delay no longer angered me, all I could think about was what I had done. Instead of getting to the exit, I found myself at a booth selling cosplays. I stopped in my tracks, seeing an expertly crafted white dress. I had no idea who the cosplay portrayed, but I knew she would look incredible in it. I found myself approaching the booth despite how stupid of an idea it was. The thing would cost a fortune, she might not even want it, and she might already be gone. The reasons not to buy it were overwhelming, but I did not stop.
